Such an apparatus is used, for example, to transport food products such as meat, sausage or cheese in portions from a slicing device, such as a high-performance slicer, to a packaging machine. By changing the output region, product portions of incorrect weight can be expelled from the product flow as they are supplied to a separate conveyor apparatus or to a collection container. By providing a plurality of adjacently arranged conveyor devices, it is possible within the framework of a multi-lane product flow to achieve a relatively high conveying performance. In this respect, a drive shaft common to all conveyor device shafts can save the expense for providing a plurality of drives, each independent of one another, as well as the associated actuating devices. The support structure can, for example, be a rocker table which is pivotally supported at the drive shaft.
In particular, for a plurality of adjacently arranged conveyor devices, the problem arises in this respect, however, that a plurality of pivot bearings must be provided, which must have a correspondingly low-friction design due to the generally relatively high rotational speed of the drive shaft. Roller element bearings with appropriate seals can, for example, be used. This, however, gives rise to problems in the production of the drive shaft since the stringent tolerance requirements for the bearing seats have to be satisfied along the entire length of the drive shaft. There are also problems in the installation, maintenance and repair, because the bearing seats located in the central region of the drive shaft are in particular not easily accessible. In addition, the overall structure of the apparatus is relatively complex and error-proneness is increased correspondingly.
It is therefore a feature of the invention to reduce the production expense for an apparatus of the named kind and to enable a simpler installation and repair.